Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) prediction that he would “definitely run for president next year” is likely to be wrong, because there is no room for four candidates, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) told reporters yesterday.
Ko had been asked to elaborate on an interview published yesterday in the Chinese-language United Daily News.
Ko had told the paper that “Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu said I will definitely run for president, but actually his guess is wrong, because if [Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder] Terry Gou (郭台銘) wants to run for president, then let him run, and I will not have to take up such a difficult task.”
Photo: CNA
Asked if that meant he had decided not to run for president, Ko said he only hopes to see a possibility of a third option beside the usual pan-blue and pan-green camps, so Han’s prediction is likely to be wrong.
He told the newspaper that his desire to run had been motivated by a desire to ridicule the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but he does not have enough resources, adding that Taiwan’s destiny should not be messed with, so he would rather support someone else who is willing to run.
Asked why he would support Gou, Ko said the boss of a big company usually has their unique personality and does not lack money, so it is difficult for anyone to “kidnap” their thoughts.
Sometimes it takes a non-politician to become president, he said.
For “the Republic of China to have a chance to reboot,” Gou, who has abundant resources, could open up a new beginning for Taiwan, he said.
Asked about his comment in the interview that Han is scary, Ko said the nation’s governance is not something to joke about, as it is difficult and needs a certain amount of preparation to handle it properly, and Han is “unreliable.”
Ko told the newspaper that he did not understand why Han has the confidence to run for president, because it is not easy to govern a nation, and there had never been anyone in Taiwan who wanted to run for president just after being elected mayor.
It is unfair for Kaohsiung residents, while Han’s administration does not have a track record, he said.
He knows from his own experience as mayor that politics has to be implemented in the people’s daily lives, and that the key to politics is being patient, so it is not that easy as Han thinks, Ko said.
In related news, the Ministry of the Interior yesterday said that on Friday it had approved the name of Ko’s new party, the Taiwan People’s Party (台灣民眾黨).
The name does not contravene the Political Parties Act (政黨法), the ministry said.
A petition was launched against Ko using the same name as the party founded in 1927 by Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水), and the Chiang Wei-shui Cultural Foundation also urged Ko to reconsider the name of his party.
Ko’s party must register as a legal entity within a year of the time it filed a statement to register a party with the ministry, which would be Aug. 22 next year, a ministry official said.
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